Worcester + or -

Gran E. Gear

I'm hoping to move from Bristol to Worcester or there or thereabouts in the near future.

I don't know much at all about the city or surroundings except I'll be working there.

Any ideas about places in the vicinity that would make a good place to live, child care (there'll be three of us) and, of course, any road cycling clubs and good routes for riding?

Cheers!

FireOnTheMountain

South West and West of Worcester is V. Nice indeed! Between A449 and A44. My girlfriend lives near a small village called Suckley. Malvern is a nice town if you don't want to be somewhere quite so rural!

The surrounding countryside is great. Loads of (quite hilly) little lanes and quiet villages.

Haven't been cycling long enough to know anything about clubs so someone will have to help you out on that front, but i can certainly vouch for the area!

MattC59

I'm orginally from Pershore which is 9miles south East of Worcester. I lived there fo 18 years and my parents still live there.

Worcester's not a bad place, but like all towns it has it's rough areas. Personally, if I was moving back there I'd head out to one of the towns, such as Pershore. Riding is pretty good, the countryside is generally rolling, but you've got the Malvern Hills to the west of Worcester, only 12 miles from Pershore; there's some great climbing there. You've also got the Cotswolds to the south and south west of Pershore, and there's some lovely riding around there. There are some lovely villages around Pershore to live in as well.

There's also a pretty good bike shop in Pershore; http://www.echelon-cycles.co.uk/index.html

izza

Grew up in Malvern and still have family there.

Went back on visit and did the Malvern sportive last year and the hills plus the lanes over past Colwall etc. were great.

Issue with the town is the average age is closing in on 85. If you like the quiet life with time on the bike then its made for you.

finchy

I've heard they have good sauce up there.

Aggieboy

I thought they'd launched a new boiler :roll:

DavidBelcher

Gran E. Gear wrote:

I'm hoping to move from Bristol to Worcester or there or thereabouts in the near future.

I don't know much at all about the city or surroundings except I'll be working there.

Any ideas about places in the vicinity that would make a good place to live, child care (there'll be three of us) and, of course, any road cycling clubs and good routes for riding?

Cheers!

As others have said, like any other place of that size it has good & bad parts. City centre is pretty good with a decent assortment of shops; Peddlers on Barbourne Road is (or at least was, not popped in for a few years) a very good bike shop. Worcester St. Johns is the main local cycling club, by the way.

David

beverick

...and remember to avoid the flood plane when looking for a house.

Bob

Tom Butcher

Plenty of road racing in that area if that's your thing - West Mids league and LVRCs. Only visited the area for races but have always been struck by how nice it looks and a good mix of terrain for cycling - both Worcester itself and the area out towards Malvern.

markos1963

I break out in a cold sweat when someone mentions Worcester and my mind goes back to this years Little MountainTT nearby.

BigDarbs

Definitely "+"!

I have lived in Worcestershire all of my 40 years and wouldn't live anywhere else. In fact we have just bought a new house in one of the villages near Pershore.

The city of Worcester is generally a good place with everything you could need. Plenty of great riding around the Abberley hills, Malvern, Bredon Hill, North Cotswolds.

Lots of road racing and TT activity, some good clubs with Worcester St Johns, Evesham Wheelers, Wyre Forest CRC all putting on lots of events. There is a purpose built road race circuit at Stourport with a race series running from May to September.

Good transport links onto the midland motorway network, Birmingham airport and NEC is 45 minutes away, and for anything Worcester doesn't have Birmingham city centre is within an hour. Interestingly there are very few empty shops in Worcester and Pershore compared to some towns, which probably says something.

I work all over the UK and there are very few areas I have been to that have ever made me think it would be worth moving.

JamesB

Depends how far you want / have to commute but I`d put in a shout for area west of Worcs out towards Ledbury / Bromyard--going towards Herefordshire; would , I think, be cheaper than Malvern, falls a bit out of the Brum commuter belt area, and certainly less busy and has fab cycling country (and cider ).

Gran E. Gear

OP here.

To all who've responded - thanks a million.

Likely we'll rent near-ish the city for at least six months to get to know both Worcester and the surrounding areas a bit more. When I visitedf the city a few weeks back, it was my first time there and I was really impressed. My 'fall out of every nightclub/start brawl/leave' days are long behind me, so I have been hoping to move family to somewhere smaller, quieter but with enough on for us to explore.

Delighted to hear there's so much road cycling activity around there - might be enough to get me back on the bike in anger and lose some feckin' weight. Or ... I could take the path of least resistance, fit the panniers, slap on the sandals, and call myself a touring man. 8)

So, next question: if we're looking at renting in one of the areas within about 3 miles of the centre, are there obvious ones to think twice about, or not really? In one city I've lived in, you could name whole areas as 'to be avoided if at all' (and that included both ridiculously rich areas as well as not-so-rich) and in another smaller city, people wouldn';t name areas but instead tell you what streets to avoid. So, I'm not sure whether or not Worcester fits either of those two types!

But I was really impressed by the place, and am really looking forward to moving there.

Thanks again for all the reponses - I wasn't expecting so many or so much help.

BigDarbs

I can't be certain of street names to avoid as I don't know the city centre that well, it certainly hasn't got an equivalent of Moss Side or Toxteth. But one tip I can give is if you are doing a google search on Worcester, make sure you have got the correct "Worcester". Here is a quote about Worcester from a review website, quote:

"I've lived in the Suburbs of Worcester for many years. SO I can tell you that Worcester is not a place you would want to live. It's a Filthy disgusting City. The only liveable area may be Northern Areas, bordering Holden, and Paxton. In the 70's. there used to be weekly Murders and gang Wars down In Great Brook Valley, Lincoln Street, and Curtis. T&G stopped printing the murders, because residents were leaving in Droves, because of Fear of Crime. It's actually tamer than it was in those days, but the Drug problem is much much worse. Cops won't even respond to that area. They gave up aloooong time ago. The city is a Ghetto. 40 Years ago I thought things could turn around, but now I beleive its a lost cause."

This is not about Worcester, Worcestershire, but Worcester, Massachusetts US!!!!! I think I'll give that place a miss and stay near Pershore!

Paulie W

There are some places that are best avoided - estates like Dines Green and Ronkswood, parts of Warndon. Most of St Johns is fine (though parts are very 'student-y'); Claines is nice; Barbourne has a good atmosphere (though it is less than a mile from the City Centre); Battenhall is a good place to live. A bit further afield (though still only 3-4 miles) there are some nice villages, e.g. Tibberton, Hallow, Kempsey (though it's prone to flooding); then around 6-7 miles places like Martley and Wichenford.

Peddle Up!

I'm Worcestershire born and bred and can vouch for the many beautiful places to live and enjoy. It's said that Worcestershire was the inspiration for Tolkien's "shire" in Lord of the Rings. And the home of the Archers too.

Frank the tank

Is the "Cavalier" pub next to Worcester city FC's ground still a decent pub?

That is the extent of my knowledge of Worcester, but it is a genuine question if anyone on here knows the answer.

DavidBelcher

Peddle Up! wrote:

I'm Worcestershire born and bred and can vouch for the many beautiful places to live and enjoy. It's said that Worcestershire was the inspiration for Tolkien's "shire" in Lord of the Rings.

There are a few places in the Midlands that make such claims though - Sarehole Mill in Brum is another, likewise The Wrekin.

David

JamesB

It's said that Worcestershire was the inspiration for Tolkien's "shire" in Lord of the Rings.

maybe but the Welsh Marches area is a more appropriate match, with its hills, woods and then leading into Snowdonia

andrew_s

There's only the two bridges over the Severn, so I would guess that crossing them at commuting time would be slow.
I'd recommend living the same side of the river as you work, at least until you've got a good idea of what the traffic and cycle routes are like.

Peddle Up!

andrew_s wrote:

There's only the two bridges over the Severn, so I would guess that crossing them at commuting time would be slow.
I'd recommend living the same side of the river as you work, at least until you've got a good idea of what the traffic and cycle routes are like.

Good point. The "old bridge" near the cricket ground and the "new bridge" crossing the river and the A38 south of Worcester can be real logjams. Crossing at Upton, especially if you live around Malvern is the better bet.